Large Empty Tank And Thinking Of Oscars.....

[Verminator89]

**starts singing**

"Welcome to the house of fun!"

 

[mattlee]

when choosing an oscar do i go for the most red patterned or do they get more markings with age? the reason i ask is because when i last went to the lfs they had quite a selection of oscars in but some were more marked with red and some hardly had any .... there was a really healthy one that was almost all black with green tinges and a red circle near the tail fin. would it get more red as it grew or is this all it would have?

the black and white oscars were for sale on ebay but arent listed anymore. im sure someone on here bought one though as i can remember the post about it....

ill keep an eye out for a decent sized red spot but there doesnt seen to be any available above 2-3 inches that i can find. also do these get more patterm etc as they grow as the juvis i see at lfs seem very pale

 

[Wills]

I think it might have been either Forby or Dave_Oddballs that had the wild oscars but Ive seen them available since?

Wills

 

[star4]

Its hard to call how their colours will go, when I first bought Rusty he looked like this

I did hope the orange would expand, however 2 months later he looked like this

Yes it is the same fish all the orange apart from the tail spot has gone, you can only see single orange spots on his body rather than patches and they are very small.

 

[mattlee]

couldnt resist one of stars rotkeils so one has now been reserved for me stocking plan is now

2 x asian sun catfish (currently about 2.5 inches)
1 x Black Ghost Knifefish (currently about 4.5 inches)
1 x Frontosa Cichlid (currently about 7 inches)
1 x Rotkeil Cichlid (currently about 3 inches)
1 x Oscar (not got yet)
1 x Siamese algae eater (currently about 4.5 inches)
1 x Red spotted Severum (if i can find a tame one)
1 x L114 (still looking for one)
1 x L190 (offered a 6 inch specimin)

its getting bigger again.... how did that happen maybe ill just have 1 pleco!

 

[hamfist]

couldnt resist one of stars rotkeils so one has now been reserved for me stocking plan is now

2 x asian sun catfish (currently about 2.5 inches)
1 x Black Ghost Knifefish (currently about 4.5 inches)
1 x Frontosa Cichlid (currently about 7 inches)
1 x Rotkeil Cichlid (currently about 3 inches)
1 x Oscar (not got yet)
1 x Siamese algae eater (currently about 4.5 inches)
1 x Red spotted Severum (if i can find a tame one)
1 x L114 (still looking for one)
1 x L190 (offered a 6 inch specimin)

its getting bigger again.... how did that happen maybe ill just have 1 pleco!

That sounds like a very well thought out, and do-able stock list !!!!

 

[Flagtail]

Nice stocklist.

 

[mattlee]

i went to wharf aqauatics today and found my oscar, they are holding it for me until my tank is ready. i also went to look at the L114 but now knowing that they are a very slow growing pleco and the price tag that goes with bigger specimins i have now decided against one of these. they did however have a great looking leopard gibbi in that caught my eye and im very tempted with....

 

[hamfist]

they did however have a great looking leopard gibbi in that caught my eye and im very tempted with....

Don't do it !

Will take over your tank, riding roughshod over everything in its path !

 

[mattlee]

they did however have a great looking leopard gibbi in that caught my eye and im very tempted with....

Don't do it !

Will take over your tank, riding roughshod over everything in its path !

i was just worried that smaller plecs would get attacked or even eaten by the cichlids when they got bigger..... they had a lovely L91 that was about 6 inches but £65 each

 

[mattlee]

they did however have a great looking leopard gibbi in that caught my eye and im very tempted with....

Don't do it !

Will take over your tank, riding roughshod over everything in its path !

i was just worried that smaller plecs would get attacked or even eaten by the cichlids when they got bigger..... they had a lovely L91 that was about 6 inches but £65 each

they also had a nice L014 sunshine plec and a vampire plec i think..... both were about 5 inch or so but cant remember the prices

 

[hamfist]

I wouldn't worry too much at all about mid-sized plecs being bothered by the cichlid mix that you are proposing. Any plec that is going to max aout above about 5" should be fine.
BTW L014 are probably my favourite plecs !!!

 

[mattlee]

I wouldn't worry too much at all about mid-sized plecs being bothered by the cichlid mix that you are proposing. Any plec that is going to max aout above about 5" should be fine.
BTW L014 are probably my favourite plecs !!!

they are a beautifull plec but ive read that they require hotter water than normal and suit a discus tank rather than a mid 20's tank... this is whats kind of put me off the L014.
can anyone confirm that they are ok at a mid 20's temp tank?

 

[Flagtail]

A royal pleco would look nice.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Oscars generally loose their markings as they get bigger, just a natural thing. I'm lucky that I chose a highly coloured/prettily marked O in Boris, and he has grown into an even better looking fish now. He's really handsome, and his orangey/red markings are really vibrant.

Pics of your O when you get him please